Defence of Fort Gregg

UZUd DEFENCE OF FORT GREGG. OFFICIAL REPORT

by
Genl. J as. H.Lane

in
Southern His t.Soc. Papers, January ,18 7 7

THE LIBRARY OF THE

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ENDOWED BY

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CLASS OF 1889

Cp970.78
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Defence of Fort Gregg. 19

As evening came on, questioning of the officers was in order, and
for an hour it would be, " Captain, when are we going into camp?"

"I say, lieutenant! are we going to or to blank?" "Seen

anything of our wagon?" "How long are we to stay here?" —
"Where's the spring?" Sometimes these questions were meant
simply to tease, but generally they betrayed anxiety of some sort,
and a close observer would easily detect the seriousness of the man
who asked after " our wagon," because he spoke feelingly as one
who wanted his supper and was in doubt as to whether or not he
would get it.

Many a poor fellow dropped in the road and breathed his last in
the corner of a fence, with no one to hear his last fond mention of
his loved ones. And many whose ambition it was to share every
danger and discomfort with their comrades, overcome by the heat
or worn out with disease, were compelled to leave the ranks, and
while friend and brother marched to battle, drag their weak and
staggering frames to the rear, perhaps to die, pitiably alone, in
some hospital, and be buried as one more "Unknown."

An accomplished straggler could assume more misery, look more
horribly emaciated, tell more dismal stories of distress, eat more
and march further (to the rear), than any ten ordinary men.
Most stragglers were real sufferers, but many of them were inge-
nious liars, energetic foragers, plunder hunters and gormandizers.
Thousands who kept their place in ranks to the very end were
equally as tired, as sick, as hungry and as hopeless as these scamps,
but too proud to tell it or use it as a means of escape from hard-
ship.

Defence of Fort Gregg.

[The heroic defence of Fort Gregg showed the spirit of the remnant of our
grand old army, and illumines the sad page of its history which tells of the
closing scenes of the " Defence of Petersburg.'''' We have never seen in
print any official account of the brilliant affair, and are glad to be able to
present the following from the original MS. report kindly furnished us by
General James H. Lane.]

BRIGADIER-GENERAL LANE'S OFFICIAL REPORT.

Appomattox Courthouse, April 10, 1865.
Major:

I have the honor to report that on the night of the 1st of
April, four regiments of my brigade, with intervals between the
men varying from six to ten paces, were stretched along the works

^
3

20 Southern Historical Society Papers.

between Battery Gregg and Hatcher's Kun, in the following order
from right to left: Twenty-eighth, Thirty-seventh, Eighteenth,
Thirty-third — the right of the Twenty-eighth resting near the brown
house in front of General McRae's winterquarters, and the left of
the Thirty-third on the branch near Mrs. Banks'.

The enemy commenced shelling my line from several batteries
about nine o'clock that night, and the picket lines in my front
opened fire at a quarter to two o'clock the following morning. The
skirmishers from McGowan's brigade, who covered the works held
by my command, were driven in at a quarter to five o'clock, and
my line was pierced by the enemy in strong force at the ravine in
front of the right of the Thirty-seventh near General McGowan's
headquarters. The Twenty-eighth, enfiladed on the left by this
force, and on the right by the force that had previously broken the
troops to our right, was forced to fall back to the Plank road. The
enemy on its left took possession of this road and forced it to fall
still further back to the Cox road, where it skirmished with the
enemy and supported a battery of artillery, by order of Brigadier-
General Pendleton. The other regiments fought the enemy between
McGowan's winterquarters and those occupied by my brigade, and
were driven back. They then made a stand in the winterquarters
of the right regiment of my command, but were again broken, a
part retreating along the works to the left, and the remainder going
to the rear. These last, under Colonel Cowan, made a stand on
the hill to the right of Mrs. Banks', but were forced back to the
Plank road, along which they skirmished for some time, and then
fell back to the Cox road, where they supported a battery of
artillery, by order of Lieutenant-General Longstreet. That portion
of my command which retreated along the works to the left, made
two more unsuccessful attempts to resist the enemy, the last stand
being made in the Church road leading to the Jones House. It
then fell back to Battery Gregg and the battery to its left; but
under Major Wooten, and assisted by a part of Thomas' brigade,
it soon after charged the enemy, by order of Major-General Wilcox,
and cleared the works as far as the branch on which the left of the
Thirty-third rested the night previous. Here we were rejoined by
Colonel Cowan, and we deployed as skirmishers to the left of the
Church road and perpendicular to" the works, but did not hold this
position long, as we were attacked by a strong line of skirmishers,
supported by two strong lines of battle. A part of us retreated to

Defence of Fort Gregg. 21

Battery Gregg, and the rest to the new line of works near the
" Dam." Battery Gregg was subsequently attacked by an immense
force, and fell after the most gallant and desperate defence. Our
men bayonetted many of the enemy as they mounted the parapet.
After the fall of this battery, the rest of my command along the
new line was attacked in front and flank and driven back to the
old line of works running northwest from Battery 45, where it
remained until the evacuation of Petersburg. We were here re-
joined by the Twenty-eighth, under Captain Linebarger.

On the afternoon of the 3d, we crossed the Appomattox at
Goode's bridge, bivouaced at Amelia Courthouse on the 4th, and
on the 5th formed line of battle between Amelia Courthouse and
Jetersville, where our sharpshooters, under Major Wooten, became
engaged. Next day, while resting in Farmville, we were ordered
back to a fortified hill to support our cavalry, which was hard
pressed, but before reaching the hill the, order was countermanded.
We moved rapidly through Farmville, and sustained some loss
from the artillery fire while crossing the river near that place.
That afternoon we formed line of battle, facing to the rear, between
one and two miles from Farmville, and my sharpshooters were
attacked by the enemy. During the night we resumed our march,
and on the 9th, while forming line of battle, we were ordered back
and directed to stack our arms, as the Army o,f Northern Virginia
had been surrendered.

My officers and men behaved well throughout this trying cam-
paign, and superiority of numbers alone enabled the enemy to
drive us from the works near Petersburg. Colonel Cowan, though
indisposed, was constantly with his command, and displayed his
usual gallantry, while Major Wooten nobly sustained his enviable
reputation as an officer.

We have to mourn the loss of Captains Nicholson, Faine,
McAulay and Long, and other gallant officers.

Captain E. J. Hale, Jr., A. A. G., and First Lieutenant E. B.
Meade, A. D. C, were constantly at their posts, displaying great
bravery and giving additional evidence of their efficiency as staff
officers.

I am unable to give our exact loss at Petersburg. I surrendered
at this point fifty-six (56) officers and four hundred and eighty-
four (484) men — many of the latter being detailed, non-arms-bear-
ing men, who were sent back to be surrendered with their brigade.

22 Southern Historical Society Papers.

The Seventh, the other regiment of my command, is absent in
North Carolina on detached service.

I am, Major, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

James H. Lane,

Brigadier- General.
Major Joseph A. Engelhard,

A. A. General.

Extract from a letter written by General Lane to General' Wikox.

Concord, N. 0., May 20th, 1867.
Dear General :

I received a letter from Major Engelhard not long since, in

which he says you wish me to furnish you, as far as I can, the

names of officers killed and wounded in my brigade, and the

number of men killed and wounded in the different battles from

the Wilderness to the surrender, as General Lee had desired a

report of you.

I beg also to call your special attention to the defence of Fort
Gregg, as you may not be aware that Harris' brigade has been given
in print all the credit of that gallant affair. Relative to that, I send
you a letter recently received from Lieutenant George H. Snow, of
the Thirty-third North Carolina regiment, who commanded tlje
detachment from my brigade which was in the fort at the time of
its fall. Harris' brigade formed on our right after Thomas and I
had cleared the works of the enemy as far as Mrs. Banks', and
when we were driven back that brigade retired to the fort above
Fort Gregg — I think it was called Fort Anderson — while mine re-
tired along the new line of works to the " Dam," a sufficient number,
however, being sent to Fort Gregg (with the supernumeraries of
Walker's artillery armed as infantry) to man the entire work. You
may perhaps recollect my calling your attention to this, and that
after looking into the fort, you approved of my turning back other
men of my command, though you had previously ordered my
whole brigade into that fort. There were, I think, eight or nine
commissioned officers of my command in the same fort.

The honor of the gallant defence of Fort Gregg is due to my
brigade, Chew's battery and Walker's supernumerary artillerists,
armed as infantry, and not to Harris' brigade, which abandoned
Fort Anderson and retired to the old or inner line of works before
Fort Gregg was attacked in force. Unsupported, I saw our noble

Defence of Fort Gregg. 23

fellows repulse three assaults in force in front and one from the
rear; and the enemy did not succeed in mounting the work until
the fire of the fort had ceased, which, as Lieutenant Snow says,
was due to want of ammunition. The enemy, after crowding the
parapet, amid the wildest cheering and waiving of numerous flags,
fired down upon our men inside of the works.

Chew's battery behaved splendidly ; even before I left the work»
two or three men were shot down in rapid succession while at-
tempting to discharge a single gun. My men were on the right and
centre, the supernumerary artillerists on the left, and Chew's battery
was in the centre, so as to give the pieces the widest possible range

of fire.

Yours, very respectfully,

James H. Lane.

Letter from Lieutenant George H. Snow, Thirty-third North Carolina

Regiment.

Raleigh, May 13th, 1867.
General James H. Lane :

Dear sir — Your letter I received some time ago, and would
have answered it earlier, but was prevented by unforseen circum-
stances.

You desire to know the details of the fight at Fort Gregg. I
think it due to the men of that noble old brigade, which stood the
contest from Newberne to the surrender, that some true lover of
patriotism and valor should espouse their cause, and place them
second to none among the true defenders of that memorable fort.
History does not reveal names more deserving of honor and praise
than those of that detachment which I had the honor to command,
and my mind painfully reverts to the agonizing adieu of each hero
as he closed his eyes in death.

I cannot speak positively when I attempt to give the number of
men belonging to your brigade or the miscellaneous commands in
the fort, but I speak confidently when I say that at least three-
fourths were of your brigade. I think I had between seventy-five
and eighty men all told, with Lieutenants Craige and Howard, and
two or three other officers whose names I do not recollect. I saw
only two officers of Harris' brigade in the fort fighting bravely, but
the number of their command I cannot exactly give, but think
that ten will cover the whole. The artillerists fought bravely, re-
sorting to small arms after being unable to use their cannon, and

24 Southern Historical Society Papers.

appeared to me as if commanding themselves : they were of Cap-
tain Chew's battery. Our stubborn resistance is due to your fore-
sight in supplying the fort with cartridges.

, The enemy charged us three times, and after having expended
all our ammunition, rocks were used successfully for over half an
hour in resisting their repeated attempts to rush over us. While
I would most willingly accord to each man within the fort his just
. and. proper credit, yet I do not think that Harris' brigade should be
mentioned in connection with its defence. I cannot point out a single
instance where one of Lane's brigade failed to perform his duty on
that day. The position we occupied (the right wing and centre)
were the only parts attacked without one moment's interval of
peace, and we repulsed with great loss an attack in the rear which
would have otherwise necessitated our surrender. The credit of
that bloody fight is due to your men, and I sincerely hope you may
correct so foul a statement as that which appears as history.
With my best wishes for your welfare and success,

I remain as ever, yours most sincerely,

George H. Snow.

Letter from Lieutenant F. B. Oraige, Thirty-third North Carolina

Regiment.

"WlLLIAMSPORT, Tennessee, June 4th, 1867.
General James H. Lane :

Dear sir — Yours of the 27th ultimo was remailed to me at
Salisbury, and received to-day. I am happy to know that you
intend making an effort to give our old brigade some of the honor
due her, which has more than once been given others to whom it
does not belong.

I will give you as correct an account of the defence of Fort Gregg
as my recollection will permit. There were but two six-pound
guns in the fort, conducted by a few Marylanders or Virginians*
under command of Captain Chew, and a few Louisianians from the
Washington artillery, under Lieutenant Mackelroy. The whole
number of artillerists did not exceed twenty-five. Lieutenant-
Colonel Duncan and his adjutant, of Harris' brigade, both of whom
were wounded in the head and acted with conspicuous gallantry,
had with them not more than twenty men. The remainder of the
troops in the fort belonged to your brigade, numbering between
one hundred and fifty, and one hundred and seventy-five. The

Defence of Fort Gregg. 25

only other officer present of our brigade, whose name you did not
mention in your letter, was Lieutenant Rigler, of the Thirty-seventh
regiment. I do not know whether there were any of General
Thomas' command with us or not. Captain Norwood, of Thomas'
staff, was captured the same morningthat I was, but I don't remember
whether on the skirmish line or in the fort. We repulsed the
enemy three times in front and once from the rear. After our
ammuniton was exhausted, the men used their bayonets and
clubbed their guns until the whole wall was covered with blue-
coats, who continued a heavy fire upon us for several moments after
they had entered.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

F. B. Craige.

Letter from Lieutenant A. B. Howard, Thirty-third North Carolina

Regiment.

Statesville, N. C, June 3d, 1867.
General Lane :

Dear sir — Yours of the 27th instant is at hand, and contents
duly noticed. I take pleasure in giving you all the information I
can in reference to the gallant defence of Fort Gregg. I am fully
confident that three-fourths of the men in the fort, if not more,
were from your brigade.

I am glad, indeed, to know that you will give a full and true state-
ment of the affair to General Lee, and that the gallant men of the Old
North State, and especially those of Lane's brigade, may have all the
honor and credit that they so nobly won.

I fully concur with Lieutenant Snow in his statement concerning
the number of men from Harris' brigade. I am pretty certain that
there was only one officer instead of two from that brigade : his
name was Duncan. He said he was lieutenant-colonel, but there
were no stars or bars about him to designate his rank.

The three pieces of artillery belonged to Chew's battery. He
was captured and taken with us to Johnson's island. I am sorry
that I am not able to recall the names of the officers from your
command. I don't remember the names of any except those
mentioned by yourself. I know there were others besides from our
brigade in the Thirty-seventh regiment, &c, but as I was not well
acquainted with them, their names have escaped my recollection.

We kept the enemy back for some time after our ammunition

26 Southern Historical Society Papers.

was exhausted with bayonets and brickbats. "lis true, that when
they rushed into the fort upon us, they were yelling, cursing and
shooting with all the frenzy and rage of a hode of merciless bar-
barians.

I could give you a full account of the whole engagement from
beginning to end, but I suppose you have all the particulars from
Captain Hale and Lieutenant Snow.

I remain yours, very truly, &c,

vA. B. Howard.

Letter from Lieutenant D. M. Rigler, Thirty-seventh North Carolina

Regiment.

Charlotte, N". C, June 17th, 1867.
General James H. Lane :

Dear sir — Yours of the 14th instant is received, and I hasten
to reply. You wish me to give all the information I can in regard
to the defence of Fort Gregg. As it has been so long since it
occurred, I do not know that I can give all the particulars, but as
far as I can I will.

After the enemy drove us from the works, a portion of the bri-
gade fell back in rear of General Mahone's quarters, and was there
until you ordered us to the fort. 'Twas near Mahone's quarters
that General A. P. Hill was killed. When we came to the fort you
were there with .some of the brigade. You then ordered all of us
to charge the enemy. We held the Jones road about fifteen min-
utes. Harris' Mississippi brigade came up; the enemy fired on
them, and they retreated. Captain Hale then ordered us up to the
fort. General Wilcox and some of his staff were there: he re-
mained there until they opened on the fort with artillery. Captain
Hale called myself, Snow and Craige out in the rear of the fort,
and asked how many men we had of the brigade and how much
ammunition. He then told us to send some reliable man after
ammunition. By this time the Yanks had got the range of the
fort, and were doing some damage.

Captain Hale then asked who was the senior officer, and as Snow
was, he put him in command and told him to hold the fort. We
formed the men around, and had about fifty or sixty. Harris' men
came in with a lieutenant-colonel, and about fifteen men more of
our brigade came in, and made in all about seventy-five of our
brigade.

Defence of Fort Gregg. 27

About ten o'clock the enemy commenced charging with four or
five lines. We did not fire until they were within forty yards, and
then we gave them one volley; they wavered, and the first line
gave way; the second came forward, and came within thirty yards
of the fort. We yelled and fired — they stood a few seconds and
then broke. The third retreated also, but the fourth and fifth came
to the ditch around the fort. While this fighting was in the front,
one line came in the rear and almost got inside the fort through
the door. About twenty men charged them, and drove them back.
About eleven o'clock they scaled the walls of the fort, and for sev-
eral minutes we had a hand to hand fight. We used the bayonet,
and killed almo&t all of them that came on the top.

About half-past eleven they attempted to scale the walls again.
We met them with the bayonet, and for several minutes it was the
most desperate struggle I ever witnessed; but it did not last long.
Soon they were all killed or knocked back, and then a deafening
shout arose from our boys. Near twelve, they tried to force their
way through the door in rear of the fort, and succeeded in getting
almost in, but we met them with the bayonet and drove them back.
By this time the ammunition was almost out, and our men threw
bats and rocks at them in the ditch. No ammunition could we
get, and after a short struggle, they took the fort, and some few did
fire on us after they got possession, but their officers tried to stop
them.

I think there were twenty-five of Harris' Mississippi brigade,
with a lieutenant-colonel ; do not think there were any more. The
lieutenant-colonel was wounded.

There were only two pieces of artillery, and I think they were
six-pound rifle pieces, and they did not have more than twenty-five
rounds of ammunition. Most of the men were wounded and killed
while the enemy were charging. They fought bravely. I do not
know whose battery it was.

There were about seventy-five or eighty men of our brigade, and
five officers, namely : Lieutenants Snow, Craige and Howard, of the
Thirty-third North Carolina regiment; Orman and myself, of the
Thirty-seventh regiment. There were about twenty of Thomas'
Georgia brigade, with Thomas' adjutant-general, or a captain acting
as such, and two lieutenants.

I think there were in the fort, including all, about one hundred
and fifty, or one hundred and seventy-five men — about seventy-
five or eighty of our brigade, about twenty-five of Harris' and about

28 Southern Historical Society Papers.

twenty of Thomas', and twenty-five or thirty of the artillery. Out of
that number at least one-half were killed and wounded.

The adjutant-general or captain of Thomas' brigade was near
me when the fighting commenced, and he said it was ten o'clock,
and that it was twelve when they got the fort.

The above, general, I think is nearly correct. It is certain our
brigade did the most of the fighting, and I think they deserve the
praise. I am glad that you are going to defend it.

Wishing you success, I am very respectfully, yours,

D. M. RlGLER.

Extract from a letter from Colonel Cowan, of Thirty-third North Carolina

Regiment.

Statesville, N. C, June 22, 1876.
Dear General :

* * * * Lieutenant Howard has doubtless given
you all the particulars more fully than I can, as most of my in-
formation was obtained from him.

Color Bearer James Atkinson made his escape from Fort Gregg
after the enemy had entered it, and brought the colors away safely.

With much respect, your friend,

R. V. Cowan.

I was an eye witness to the above. Atkinson ran from the fort
when the enemy mounted the parapet, and with the colors of the
Thirty-third North Carolina regiment flying, he made his escape
without being struck, though he was a marked target for the enemy.
His exploit was greeted with cheers upon cheers from the men in
the main line of works.

James H. Lane.

Address on the Character of General E. E. Lee,

Deltvebed in Richmond on Wednesday, January 19th, 1876, the Anniversaby of Genebal
Lee's Birth, by Captain John Hampden Chamberlayne.

[We were urged at the time of its delivery by a number of gentlemen who
heard it to publish this admirable address, and have always purposed doing
so. It may be well, however, that is has been postponed, so as to appear on
the eve of another anniversary of the birth of uur great chieftain.]

Fellow Citizens :

I shall not obtrude upon you apologies or explanations, as
if I had the orator's established fame to lose, or looked that future

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